First Impressions
by MidnightObsession
Summary: Working in the Summer is hard: Chelsea is tired, boiling and completely sunburnt. At least the new arrival to the islands might be able to help her out, but first impressions are important- and Chelsea's never been too good at those.


AN: Hello ^^  
I present to you, a MarkxChelsea oneshot-that-is-turning-into-a-threeshot that I'm actually pleased with :3 I liked my other two well enough I guess, but I prefer this one.  
Also, I want to say thank you to those who reviewed the other oneshots: weirdogirl, ImaginationFlow, Fox and my other anonymous reviewer, Anon (points for inventiveness there ;D). Your reviews are all so lovely, thank you :D

I've been updating pretty quickly recently, mainly because these stories are sitting on my laptop and just need some tweaking before I upload them (I'm not always this quick at writing :P)

But I'll stop before this turns into me rambling...I don't own anything and enjoy :)

* * *

**First Impressions**

Summer, Chelsea decided, was a thoroughly deplorable season. From early in the morning until late at night, the sun crackled cheerfully in the sky, heating the islands to an unholy temperature that left the farmer sweating and burnt after tending to her chores. Whilst her animals basked blissfully in the heat, Chelsea's crops were quick to wither and droop; on more than one occasion she had sat outside for almost the whole day repeatedly watering the plants in a desperate attempt to keep them alive.

" Stupid weather. It's almost as bad as Winter." Chelsea fanned her face with her hands, sadly admitting to herself that she now probably more closely resembled a tomato rather than a human. To say that she was burnt was an understatement- she was completely fried all over, and it was her own fault for forgetting to read the label on her suncream.

Since when did you have to reapply it every two hours?

Deciding that remaining outside was a bad idea, the red tinted girl made her way towards the Animal Shop, only pausing on the way to call out a greeting or two as island residents walked past her. With sticky fingers, she pushed open the door of the building shared by Julia and her mother and nearly fainted in delight as a wave of cool air greeted her.

" You have _air conditioning_?" Chelsea fixated her attention on the humming unit that sat in the corner. She made a beeline towards the object and knelt down in front of it, grinning widely.

" Vaughn brought it over for us. Do you like it?" Julia, having emerged from the kitchen, giggled at the blissful expression on Chelsea's face.

" I _love _it. I can't afford one though...I have to make do with opening my fridge and sitting in front of it." The farmer said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

" By the way...Have you been to see Taro yet? Apparently a new resident is arriving; the boat should be due at the beach in the next few minutes." Julia leant against the wall, glancing towards a clock as she spoke. Chelsea shot a glare in her direction; the way in which Julia had casually mentioned the new arrival obviously meant that Chelsea was going to be hauled down to the beach alongside the usual welcome committee. In an effort to remain in front of the soothing air conditioner for as long as possible, the girl made a show of removing and retying the red bandanna that was constantly wrapped around her head. Unfortunately, Julia saw straight through her and with surprising strength, she dragged Chelsea to her feet and gave her a gentle push in the direction of the door.

" You'll pay for making me do this- I'm going to sneak in here tonight and steal your air conditioner. Then I'll laugh as you all melt." The farmer threw the childish threat over her shoulder whilst walking outside and back into the sweltering heat; with a groan, she reluctantly began to head towards the beach with a despondent look on her face.

* * *

" I hope you've been looking after your crops!"

" Yes Taro.

" And your animals! Never neglect your animals!"

" Yes Taro."

" And you had better be tilling your field!"

" I have to go over here now, Taro." With a false, innocent smile, Chelsea made her escape before the old man had a chance to protest. Going to the beach had been the worst decision she could have made; although the ever friendly Felicia, Elliot and Natalie were there, old man Taro was also standing on the beach. At the sight of Chelsea, he had launched into some wild tirade about farming and it took considerable willpower to keep calm and flee. Muttering curses under her breath, Chelsea walked a good few metres away from the family, removing her orange jacket and boots as she did so. It was warm enough for her to expose the simple yellow vest top that she wore underneath, and the feeling of the hot sand between her toes caused her to smile. With a sudden laugh, Chelsea began to run across the beach, not paying much attention to her surroundings; this proved to be a bad idea when she slammed into someone and ended up throwing her boots and jacket haphazardly in all directions.

The garments were better off than their owner, though, as Chelsea herself ended up on ground with a mouthful of sand.

" Are you alright?" At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, she raised her head and found herself looking at an unrecognisable young man. He seemed to have fared better than her, and instead of lying face first into the sand he was sitting upright, his hands planted on the ground.

" What do you think?" Chelsea grumbled, pulling herself into a sitting position and spitting sand out of her mouth. After getting to his feet, the blonde newcomer in front of her looked confused for a moment, but he quickly grinned and extended a hand towards the girl sitting on the sand.

" I'm Mark. I normally greet people with a handshake rather than crashing into them...But then again, you are far too sunburnt to be human."

" Haha. I'm Chelsea; I own the farm here." She rolled her eyes as she shook Mark's hand, slightly surprised when he didn't let go; instead he helped her to her feet before releasing her hand.

" Aren't you a gentleman." She commented, laughing as Mark scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

" I wasn't going to leave you on the ground. Oh, and is that yours?" He indicated her orange jacket with a wave of his hand; the item of clothing was curled up on the sand a few feet away. With a nod, Chelsea pounced on the object and scanned the beach for her boots; the bright red shoes proved easy to spot and she quickly collected them and started to walk towards Taro and his family.

" So, Mark," Chelsea began to talk in a conversational tone, motioning for the boy to follow her, " do you like chickens?"

" They're okay...?" Mark raised an eyebrow at the rather strange question Chelsea had asked. The brunette nodded in approval.

" Good. I think we'll get along just fine, then!"

* * *

It was a week after that first meeting when Chelsea awoke to a knock on her door. Grumbling in discontent, she shuffled out of bed and flung open the door, glaring at the person standing in front of her.

" ...Chelsea?" Mark tilted his head to the side and retreated back a step or two. Chelsea couldn't blame him; the young farmer- despite her profession- was certainly _not _a morning person, and the sight of a bleary-eyed, growling Chelsea was normally enough to even send Taro running for the hills.

" It's six in the morning," She replied slowly, scrubbing at her eyes with her hands. When she deigned to look at Mark again, the girl was confused at what she saw. He was looking firmly at his feet, clearing his throat uncomfortably, and it took a moment for the sleep addled Chelsea to realise the cause of his embarrassment. She glanced down at her nightclothes noting that instead of her usual t-shirt and shorts, she was currently wearing a very short and very revealing nightdress.

" I...I'll...be back in a minute." With a mortified expression on her face, Chelsea slammed the door and ran back to her bedroom, rapidly changing into her more modest work clothes. When she reappeared outside, Mark was still standing there with an awkward smile on his face.

" Well, I thought it would take longer than a week for me to see you in a nightdress. Is this how you usually welcome people to the islands, or am I just special?" He teased, breaking the slightly tense silence. Chelsea's eyes widened for a moment, before she scowled and stomped off towards her crops.

" Hey, I was only kidding. And I actually wanted to ask you something." Mark trotted after her, reminding Chelsea of her beloved dog.

" What?" She whipped around quickly in a melodramatic attempt to intimidate the young man, but ended up stumbling and nearly falling into the shipping bin. With a defeated sigh, she rubbed her now sore back and leant against the wooden box, watching Mark expectantly.

" Do you need any help? Only, I really want to learn about farming..." The blonde's voice trailed off as a blank look crossed Chelsea's face. Mark's own face promptly fell and he took the girl's silence to mean no. As he turned around to leave, Chelsea spoke up.

" I guess...I could use some help. It would be nice if someone else got sunburnt instead of me." She tried to keep her tone neutral, but couldn't stop the smile that graced her face.

" Thanks, Chelsea. You won't regret it." Mark grinned, his eyes almost sparkling as he started to pick his way towards the crops.

" I had better not. I mean, arriving at my door at 6am and seeing me in a nightdress? You don't exactly make the greatest first impression." Chelsea commented as she followed, hopping lightly over a makeshift wooden fence that surrounded her field. Mark paused, and stared at her incredulously.

" This, coming from the woman who knocked me to the ground before she had even asked me for my name- I don't think you're in a position to lecture me about first impressions." He was forced to duck after his observation when Chelsea swiped at his head. For a moment, he thought he had managed to escape her wrath, but when he looked up he saw Chelsea standing triumphantly in front of him, his beloved blue baseball cap in her hands.

" What did you say, Mark?" Chelsea asked sweetly. After patting his head to confirm that his new employer had indeed stolen his hat, Mark sighed quietly.

" Nothing, Chelsea."

" I thought so. Now, I'll give your hat back when we're finished." Chelsea paused, placed the cap on her head and threw a battered watering can towards Mark. She then put her hands on her hips and ordered him to begin work.

" Start with the crops. It's boiling today, so they'll need lots of water." Mark stared, dumbfounded, at the girl until he realised that she was serious. Never mind Chelsea regretting the arrangement; Mark himself was rapidly beginning to question his sanity following his decision to work for her.

What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

AN: I think my Chelsea is a little obsessed with Mark's hat xD This is more of a friendship fic, but I still like it. Chelsea is a little domineering, isn't she? With her, I always picture Mark as the long suffering best friend/boyfriend/husband, haha...Oh, and thank the Goddess for a fanfiction that actually has a title containing more than one word!

Out of interest, would anybody like me to add a couple of chapters to this, and make it into a little story as opposed to a oneshot? I quite like this as it is, but it might be nice to add a few chapters focusing on the MarkxChelsea pairing before they get together :3 Opinions please =D


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